Stakeholders meet to brainstorm on new SME policy

KATARE MBASHIRU

BUSINESS and investment stakeholders and experts are holding a two-day public private dialogue in Dar es Salaam that will come up with proposals for development of a new Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) policy.

According to the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Professor Adolf Mkenda, the government is currently drafting the new SMEs policy following repeated plea from stakeholders in order to improve the business environment in the country.

Organised by Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF), the Centre for Policy Research and Advocacy (CPRA) and the University of Dar es Salaam Business School (UDBS) in collaboration with the Intelligence for Innovation Africa Network, the stakeholders’ roundtable brought together scholars, policy makers, Development Partners and business practitioner from Africa.

According to TPSF Executive Director, Mr Godfrey Simbeye, SMEs is a sector that creates many employment opportunities and that the private sector has for a long time called for a new SME Development policy.

Considering the role and importance of SMEs, the government in 2003 developed its first ever SMEs Development Policy which provided the guidance on all matters related to SMEs development in the country.

The overall objective of the policy was to foster job creation and generation of income through promotion and creation of new SMEs. The policy further intended to improve the performance and competitiveness of the existing SMEs to increase their participation and contribution to the Tanzanian economy.

“As we move towards an industrial economy, we urge the government to identify and nurture talent in the excelling innovators in the manufacturing industries as well as empowering SMEs in order to contribute significantly to the transformation agenda of our economy,’’ said Mr Simbeye.

the media on the sidelines of the stakeholders’ dialogue, Prof Mkenda said 52 per cent of women in the country control SMEs, adding that 55 per cent of SMEs were in the rural areas.

“As experts meet here for their deliberations, it is our hope that they will come up with ideas that will help in improving our policy that we are currently drafting,’’ said the PS. According to him, it is widely recognised worldwide that SMEs are the engine of the economy and that they play a crucial role in creating employment.